


ameris' boba shop

by knightofameris



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boba Shops & Milk Tea, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Cafe AU, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/F, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Harassment, M/M, Sexual Harassment, Tags will be updated, also i'll be updating this daily, also maybe this'll do better here than on tumblr? lol, depends on if people wanna request characters, do tell me if i use female pronouns tho, gender neutral reader, i dunno, i had a lot of fun writing this tho so hopefully u guys like it tooo, i really go from using some tags of ao3s and then commenting on my own LMAO, i'll add it on which chapter it is in tho, it's not like very out there, male reader - Freeform, more characters may or may not be added, okay but it's cafe au but make it boba, u know what no i'll make my own tag LMAO, what about it, yeah im posting them out of order
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26336773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightofameris/pseuds/knightofameris
Summary: What can I get for you today?All drinks come with a cute bobarista or customer and you can order as much as you'd like~!Not all drinks are available at the moment, but they will be soon!Status: soft opening!Drinks will be released sporadically due to lack of employeesread as: brain cells and motivation. But stay tuned!Feel free to request a drink or a bobarista or a customer!++Available Drinks:Sugawara KoushiAkaashi KeijiShouyou HinataSawamura DaichiMiya OsamuOikawa TooruKita Shinsuke
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Reader, Bokuto Koutarou/Reader, Hanamaki Takahiro/Reader, Hinata Shouyou/Reader, Iwaizumi Hajime/Reader, Kageyama Tobio/Reader, Kita Shinsuke/Reader, Kuroo Tetsurou/Reader, Miya Atsumu/Reader, Miya Osamu/Reader, Nishinoya Yuu/Reader, Oikawa Tooru/Reader, Sawamura Daichi/Reader, Shimizu Kiyoko/Reader, Sugawara Koushi/Reader, Suna Rintarou/Reader, Yaku Morisuke/Reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 123





	1. ◜𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜’ 𝚋𝚘𝚋𝚊 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚞◞

— 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠' 𝑏𝑜𝑏𝑎 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑝

What can I get for you today?

Take a look at the menu below if you’re not sure what to order.  
Not all drinks are available at the moment, but they will be soon!

New drinks will be added every other day!

## ~𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒~

## ◜ **𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜’ 𝚋𝚘𝚋𝚊 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚞** ◞

⇾ jasmine green milk tea- ¥500 【s. koushi】 ☆ 

⇾ brown sugar roasted milk tea - ¥600 【k. tetsurou】 

⇾ tiger milk tea - ¥385 【i. hajime】 

⇾ mango black tea - ¥490 【n. yuu】 

⇾ mango & orange green tea - ¥400 【h. shouyou】

⇾ kiwi green tea - ¥450 【m. atsumu】 

⇾ strawyberry fruit yakult - ¥475 【y. morisuke】 

⇾ passionfruit yakult - ¥345 【o. tooru】 

⇾ hokkaido coffee - ¥345 【a. keiji】 ☆

⇾ vietnamese coffee - ¥525 【s. rintarou】 

⇾ hot chai tea - ¥350 【k. shinsuke】 

  
*𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺

⇾wintermelon milk tea - ¥425 【s. daichi】

⇾ watermelon slush - ¥358 【h. takahiro】

⇾ hibiscus green tea - ¥425 【s. kiyoko】 

⇾ matcha strawberry latte - ¥650 【m. osamu】

⇾ fresh milk black tea - ¥650 【k. tobio】 

⇾ oreo brulee green milk tea - ¥650 【b. koutarou】 

## 𝐅𝐀𝐐

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬’ 𝐛𝐨𝐛𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥?  
↳ Great question! All drinks come from various boba locations along with a cute bobarista or customer!

𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤?  
↳ Sure thing! If your favorite drink isn’t on my menu just pop on by. [it can be a character and i’ll assign a drink **or** it can be a drink + character **or** send a boba drink and i’ll assign a character that hasn’t been added to that drink.]

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝?  
↳ It depends on which store you’re going to! Since ameris’ boba shop has drinks from various stores, it will vary. Those with a ‘☆‘ next to it are my personal favorites!

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 ‘𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠’ 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?  
↳ A ‘soft opening’ means that drinks will gradually become available as Ameris prepares the drink! As of right now, drinks will become available daily (this is subject to change). 

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞?  
↳ All drink sizes vary, but that’s what’s special about Ameris’ boba shop since size doesn’t change the quality!

𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝?  
↳ I’ll be adding this each time I have a new drink posted! Keep in mind this does not mean a drink has become available. **All new drinks will initially be unavailable.**  
✧･ﾟ:* _𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝙳𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙺_ *:･ﾟ✧

✧･ﾟ:* 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐒 *:･ﾟ✧  
↳ To Vivian for helping me create some of these drinks and inspiring many of these drinks.  
To kuroos-babie on tumblr and for supporting me because I got really nervous!  
To dr-cakes on tumblr for helping on making the character headers ahdfkasfh

**𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚝𝚒𝚙 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔, 𝚒𝚝’𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚙𝚞𝚖𝚙 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚜!  
**

**𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢, 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗!**


	2. jasmine green milk tea 【s. koushi】

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍: 𝚓𝚊𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚎𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙳𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚃𝚎𝚊  
> 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔!

  
  
  
  


Suga stood behind the counter, playing with his phone as he waited for the rush hour to start in a few minutes. It was only 2:47 but in a few minutes classes for that hour would be let out and soon an influx of college students wanting their boba cravings satisfied would come in. Being a student himself, he understood. 

I mean, many people would forgo going out saying they didn’t have money, but then spend ~500 yen for boba every other day? Understandable. 

Plus, with a boba shop right on (or somewhat just slightly off) campus, it was way too easy to ask a friend if you wanted boba. Plus (squared), working at _Ding Tea_ just meant more people were likely to head to this shop in particular. 

“Suga, quit tapping your foot so much,” Daichi called out, making his way to the front as the second cashier, he adjusted the apron around his waist. “It’s making me nervous.” 

Suga jolted and slammed his foot down on the ground, then glanced towards the glass doors to see students in the distance heading over. He tucked his phone into his back pocket, taking a deep breath as he prepared to take orders. After all, at the end of the rush you’d always appear. 

Noya jogged past Suga, giving him a clap on the back as he went towards the laptop connected to the shop’s sound system. “Don’t worry Suga, I’ll play the best music for them to fall in love with you!” 

“Tch, that or he’s going to blare music and deafen all of us,” Tsukishima stated, already preparing some cups. “Again.” 

“Hey that was one time!” Noya shouted back. But a glare from Daichi quickly shut the boy up. 

“Wonder what name they’re going to go by today,” Tsukishima mused. Suga sighed but before he could say anything in response, the door to the boba opened with a bell signaling customers. Everyone, minus Tsukishima, smiled at the incoming customers and welcomed them. The buzz of the shop came to life. 

Fortunately for all of them, the buzz soon started dying down, with a few people coming in every so often but the tables in the shop were finally filled with students doing homework and studying. A few familiar faces littered the shop as well. Two of his friends, Yachi and Shimizu, being some of the familiar faces, studying together. 

“Don’t they usually come every Tuesday and Thursday?” Noya asked in front of the register this time, sipping on his free boba drink as he already clocked out for the day. 

Suga nods, “Maybe they had something to do.” 

“It’s alright, Suga,” Daichi clasped his hand on his friend’s shoulder. 

“Weren’t you going to finally ask for their name today?” Tsukishima questioned, pushing his glasses up. “Guess it wasn’t meant to be.” Daichi threw a glare at the taller boy but Suga paid it no mind. He really wanted to figure out your name since you always used various different ones. It wasn’t until the bell on the door rang out and Noya let out a yelp, quickly heading towards Yachi and Shimizu’s table, both of them watching closely to everything play out. 

Your eyes scanned the menu on the screen above the register before approaching Suga at the register, a bright smile plastered on his face. You couldn’t help but smile back at him. 

“What can I get for you today?” Suga asked. 

“Uh, Regular jasmine green milk tea, with boba, uhm, slight ice and half sugar,” you replied, somehow with ease. Besides the one bit of a pause. Something about Sugawara, as you read from the tag on his apron, always calmed you down. Even when you did mess up your orders, he’d always wave it off with a smile and chime in about the embarrassing moments he’d have or his coworkers would have, much to their liking. 

Even then, he was cute, so color you surprise to be able to stay calm in front of him. 

“Sure,” he replied, punching in your order. “What’s your name for today?” 

You felt a rush of heat approach your cheeks from your neck. You forgot that you always used a different name because of how much people would mess up your name. And since you didn’t remember which name you used initially when you ordered from Sugawara, of course, you just kept the game going with different names. 

“Uh, Aoi,” you stuttered out. You watched as Suga promptly wrote your name down on the computer, then a sticker came out of the machine as he stuck it onto a cup for one of his coworkers (Tsukishima, you’re pretty sure) to grab and start working on your drink. You made sure to give them a decent tip as you paid. 

It was oddly quiet in the shop. Usually Suga would try to hold some conversation but you noticed that he was being uncharacteristically quiet. The way he fiddled with his fingers and his pursed lips. As if he was nervous. You were about to ask him about his day, seeing as there was no line behind you, until he interrupted you.

“Name!” You tilted your head, confused and a streak of red appeared across his face. Tsukishima started snickering, trying to contain his laughter as he made your drink. Even one of his other coworkers, Daichi (maybe you need to chill on your boba outings, you already knew everyone by name), who was usually calm and collected had to move to the back to let out a laugh. 

“Sorry, I-uh-” Suga rubbed the back of his neck, making sure to not make eye contact with you or Noya and his other friends laughing at his predicament. “Your name. I was wondering what your name was since you always have a different one.” 

“Oh.” You blink. “Oh!” A smile made its way onto your face. You found it quite entertaining that he was more nervous than he let on. 

“Plus, then I could get your name right for your order each time. Considering you use easy names.” And he was just as perceptive. 

You giggled, and for a second Suga thought you were making fun of him until your name fell from your lips. Your real one. And Sugawara couldn't help the bright grin creeping up on his face as he tasted the way your name felt on his tongue.

  


**𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢, 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was the first i wrote because suga's my fav i luv him AHAHA


	6. mango & orange green tea 【h. shouyou】

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍: mango & green tea 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 MeetFresh  
> 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔!

  


Your younger sister, Kumiko, pointed at the various shaved ice combinations on the menu, talking about how her and her friend’s parents brought their volleyball youth group out for a birthday celebration. Which made sense, the shaved ice options that they had were all large portions and you weren’t sure if you’d be able to finish it with her. But she was really craving it and you wanted to treat her out since you’ve come back from university.

Honestly, with how long your sister was taking to pick which shaved ice option she wanted, you were thankful that the cashier was so patient. And that there was no line.

“Oh! This one, the pudding and Q mochi milk! That one’s really good. What are you gonna get?” Kumiko asked, staring up at you with wide eyes. You knew she’d feel bad if you only went to get something for her. 

“Uhmm, I’m not sure, maybe a drink,” you stated, though it was more a question since there were also way too many drinks for you to choose from. 

“If you’d like a suggestion-” you glance up towards the orange-haired cashier who somehow never let his smile disappear “-the mango and orange green tea is pretty good!” 

You hum to yourself, staring down at the menu before settling in. It was kinda funny how he suggested something with orange considering his hair color. If you were close to him, you’d make some comment about that but you weren’t about to say that. 

“Yeah, I’ll try that then, along with the pudding and Q mochi milk shaved ice.” You smiled at him as you ruffled your sister’s hair. As he tapped in the order, your eyes brushed over his arms, almost alarmed that someone who was something akin to a ray of sunshine, could be as built as he was. Heat rushed up to your face as you looked away from his arms and up to his face instead, who at the same time met your eyes to tell you the price.

You quickly give him your card and he hands you a buzzer that tells you when your order is ready. 

“It’ll be out soon, thanks!” He grins and you can’t help but smile back but before you know it, Kumiko’s already tugging you towards a table and grabbing the buzzer herself. 

Your sister continues to update you on what’s happened since you’ve been off to college and you listen intently, waiting patiently. It doesn’t take long for the buzzer to go off and Kumiko dashed to grab it. True to Hinata Shoyo’s word, as you figured out his name since it was printed on the receipt next to ‘Cashier.’ At least, you hope that was his name since you knew that sometimes coworkers would just use the same register with a different name. 

But it’d be kinda cute if that was his name, it did mean sun and his hair was bright orange and his smile might as well be as bright as the sun and the way he talked to you and your sister and his employees-

“Come on! The food’s here!!” Kumiko interrupted your thoughts, dashing towards her seat. You arched a brow at where the food (dessert, really) was and Hinata appeared, holding the tray. You flushed, embarrassed that he had to go out of his way to help. You really should have gotten the tray yourself but you had to get caught up on him. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” you stand up and dash towards him, grabbing the tray out of his hands before giving him a slight bow. “Kumiko, why didn’t you call me over?” You send her a slight glare but Hinata’s laughter caught your attention instead. 

“It’s alright, I’m off the clock now!” He grinned. “Besides, Kumiko- _chan_ reminds me of my little sister when she was her age.” 

“Hinata’s so cool! He watched Sailor Moon too!” She beams as you went to set the tray down in front of her, the young girl impatiently dug into the shaved ice, even grabbing a bit of mochi to place into her smaller bowl. 

“Kumiko, you know you can’t talk to everyone about Sailor Moon that’s why I’m here,” you pout jokingly. The spoon in your hand grabs the ice cream at the top to place in her bowl. “Also you should call him Hinata- _san_.”

“No it’s fine! You can just call me Hinata, I already told her that.” Hinata waved you off, to not let you worry anymore. Turning back to Hinata, you find that he’s holding your drink in his hand, already handing you it. Kumiko interrupts you, introducing you to Hinata for you.

“Sorry, I feel like such a bother, is there anyway I can make it up to you?” you ask sheepishly, grabbing the drink from him. Before he can answer, Kumiko does for you.

“Come eat, the shaved ice is going to melt! Hinata, who’s your favorite Sailor Guardian?” Kumiko asked before going off about who her favorite was (it’s Sailor Jupiter). You glance over at Hinata sheepishly but he almost pays you no mind as he immediately sits down across from Kumiko. You’re sure to take the spot in between them on the side of the four-seated table. 

Honestly, part of you was surprised at how well Hinata was able to keep up with Kumiko’s conversation. Sometimes it felt like he was just as much a child as she was. With Hinata even giving her different anime recommendations she’d like (Like Cardcaptor Sakura) and how he’d describe things using sound effects. It felt easy and natural talking to him and your sister. You were just thankful that he was able to indulge in her obsession with Sailor Moon. 

After the three of you finished the shaved ice, since it was very obvious that you and Kumiko could not finish it and you insisted that he’d have some if he was sitting with them, Kumiko declared that she wanted to return the tray and bowls. So you let her, also being sure to keep a watchful eye on her. 

“I’m so sorry you got roped in like that,” you rub the back of your neck. 

“No, it’s alright! Really, I didn’t have anything to do. It was fun talking to you and Kumiko- _chan_.” Hinata reassured. “Plus, you let me have some of the shaved ice.” 

You chuckled, “It’s nothing, you’ve been more than helpful. A-plus customer service, but please if there’s anything I could do just let me know.” 

Hinata looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought before the light in his head went off. “You could stop by one of my volleyball games for support! Wait, here, put your number in my phone and I’ll text you everything.” He quickly takes out his phone to hand to you and you’re suddenly shocked at how you’re putting your number into this really cute guy’s phone. And this was honestly thanks to your sister.

“Hey, Hinata!” Kumiko skipped back to the table. “Can we talk about Sailor Moon more next time?” 

“Only if you come to my volleyball game!” 

Kumiko gasped, jumping excitedly. So much so that you had to grab her close to you before she could get in the way of any other MeetFresh patrons. 

“I play volleyball too! Did you hear that!” Kumiko asks, staring up at you with bright round eyes.

Hinata was sure to walk you and Kumiko back to your car, letting her further indulge him about what she liked about volleyball. At this point, Kumiko talked more to Hinata than you were able to, but the orange-haired boy was sure to give you glances, grateful for the fact that through your sister he was able to spend some time around you. 

Later that night as you’re settling into bed with the lights off and checking your phone one last time, before you truly went to sleep, your phone vibrated with a text. 

  
  


**𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢, 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗!**


	9. passionfruit yakult 【o. tooru】

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍: 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙳𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚃𝚎𝚊  
> 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter has minor sexual harrassment, just someone being pushy is all.

Mornings for you weren’t that bad. Actually, you kinda liked mornings (even if you slept late the night before). It’s always a bit cathartic for you when you’re able to wake up early enough to watch the world wake up before your eyes. Plus, the whole thing makes you _feel_ a bit more productive for being able to wake up early. Though, some days are worse than others. Don’t let that deter you, though, sleeping in doesn’t make you any less productive. As long as everyone here is getting the right amount of sleep and not listen to what society deems as productive, you’re doing just fine. 

Except, mornings _are_ bad. For one reason only. Working the first shift meant preparing the shop an hour before it opened every morning. 

Wake up at seven, lay in bed on your phone for a few minutes, set some music on your speakers, do a bit of morning yoga. Then brush your teeth, eat, get dressed, and pack your bag full of things you’d need for classes along with a change of clothes and it’s already nine. You liked to take your time getting ready in the morning. Get to the train station and clock in to work at ten. 

But every morning, every god _damn_ morning when you’d clock in at ten o’clock there’d be some sort of mess. The floor wasn’t mopped, maybe. Or the cups weren’t stacked in their rightful spots. Perhaps there were dishes left over that still needed cleaning. Or, mayhaps, the screens for the menu were left on for some reason? You could go on about it.

Whoever worked the night shifts was surely out to get you. You were sure of it. They just wanted to piss you off for no reason other than to make you hate mornings, because you’re one of the few that actually _like_ mornings! 

“I swear to god,” you mutter angrily, “I’m gonna murder the evening shift people.” 

This morning, they decided to forget to mop the floors. Or rather, they forgot to do it last night. 

“I feel like the more they glare at the floor, the floor’s going to get destroyed,” Yukie said, eating her onigiri as she sat on one of the chairs. She had already finished her morning duties. 

Akaashi sighed, about to step in to take over before Bokuto bounded towards you instead. 

“Hey, hey, hey! Let me mop the floors instead, we still got a few more minutes before the store opens so just relax!” Bokuto grinned at you, his hands outreached for the mop in your hands. Staring at him with his bubbly and energetic personality relaxed you. Of course, your fellow morning shift coworkers had a distaste towards whoever it was that left the place messy the night before, but you were the one that found it most frustrating. Considering the fact that you’ve left notes for them. 

Taking a deep breath, you hand the mop to Bokuto and thank him before walking towards Akaashi who simply stood behind the counter with his hands clasped behind his back. His watchful eyes stayed on your form. The anger that was in you earlier had dissipated. Finally, Akaashi could relax instead of figuring out a way to keep you from aggressively making drinks. 

“Do we know who even works the night shift?” You asked, fiddling with the laptop that played the music throughout the shop. 

“Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime, Hanamaki Takahiro, and Matsukawa Issei,” Akaashi says off the top of his head. “You should really look at the schedule more often.” 

You shoot a glare at Akaashi but he remains unfazed. But it surprises you that you didn’t know that pretty boy Oikawa Tooru was the one leaving a mess. Okay sure it can be one of the others or all four of them but the “pretty boy” never sat right with you with his fan club.

“Isn’t Oikawa- _san_ that one pretty boy with a fan club on campus?” Yukie questioned, her onigiri long finished. 

“Huh? Oh! Yeah! He plays volleyball with me,” Bokuto said, pushing the mop cart back to the janitorial closet. “I think he also played for his team back in high school. Aoba Johsai?” Akaashi nodded his head in confirmation.

You raise a brow at them, “Don’t you play volleyball Akaashi?” You slightly recall the times Yukie, Bokuto, and Akaashi have talked about going back to their high school to visit underclassmen or their training camps to see how Hinata and Tsukki were doing, whoever they were. 

“Yes, but now that we’re in university I don’t play anymore, so I’ve never met Oikawa- _san_ or the others.” 

“Ah,” you slightly tilt your head back in realization. “That makes sense.” 

A tapping on the door interrupted the conversation and all of your heads turn to the glass doors. It’s a customer, an older one, who simply points at his non-existent watch on his wrist. 

“Oops, it’s time to open up shop,” Yukie declared and all four of you went into motion to get started for the day, music began to play through the speakers of the shop. 

***

You were always the first of the four to leave from the first shift, since you had less of a gap between the end of the shift to the class you always had after. But fortunately, next semester you were able to find class times that better suited your schedule. 

Sitting in the lecture hall, grabbing the necessary items you’d need for the next hour out of your bag, you see Konoha making his way over to you. You met him in one of your classes your first year, but found it surprising that he also happened to be friends with Bokuto and the others since high school. 

But the first few sentences he said to you that day probably ruined your week. 

“Did you check the schedule of classes?” Your scrunched up face gave him the answer he needed. “The next class for the physics series next semester was moved to the afternoon instead of evening, so you’re gonna have to change shifts.” 

“What?!” 

Letting out a loud groan, Konoha gave you a sympathetic look, knowing how much you hated the night shift people you always talked about. 

***

Getting through the last part of the semester was difficult but not impossible. Sleepless nights spent at the library studying, cramming, working, and of course trying your best to keep calm while cleaning up the mess from the previous night shifts at _Ding Tea_. Oh right, and telling the manager you’ll be needing a change in shifts. 

It worked out well, luckily one of the workers from the night shift also had to change schedules so you simply changed with them. Iwaizumi Hajime. From what you hear around campus, he’s the only one who can keep the reins on Oikawa. So you were wondering how in the world working with Oikawa was going to be like, especially without him.

Oikawa let out a whine on his way to work with his other three friends. Except, Iwaizumi was the only one not wearing the work clothes, considering he was heading to class instead. 

“Iwa-chan, why did you have to switch shifts, now we have to deal with one of the morning shift workers.” 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes with a scowl on his face, “Shut it Crappykawa, there’s four of them so we don’t even know if this person in particular is the one leaving the mess.” 

“Still! If I have to deal with cleaning up spilled boba from the floor again, I will-”

“What do you mean, I always end up cleaning the spilled boba,” Matsukawa comments. Iwaizumi whacks Oikawa on the back of his head, saying he had no right to complain if he wasn’t the one cleaning it up before he ended up needing to part from them. 

“See ya,” Hanamaki and the others waved at him. “Wish us luck keeping Oikawa under control.” 

“Just give him a good smack on the head, it’ll be fine,” Iwaizumi smirked and turned around, heading towards class. Hanamaki and Matsukawa exchanged glances, a silent conversation between the two of them as Oikawa spent the rest of the walk depressed and rubbing the back of his head. When they approached the store they saw you already inside, working diligently to prepare the shop, a few customers already coming by. 

As the three boys head into the shop through the back to clock in, you immediately shoot them a glare. But most of it goes towards Oikawa, who gets the sudden chills down his spine. 

“You’re late.” 

Then a smile appears on your face, greeting the customers after you turn your head away from them. 

“Well, this will be fun,” Hanamaki comments, grinning as he puts on his apron to help you out in the front. 

Oikawa points towards you half-heartedly as he looks up to Matsukawa, “I feel like they already hate me, what did I do Mattsun?” 

Matsukawa simply shrugs, “If Iwaizumi was here he’d just say it’s because of your fanclub.” 

“They’re just jealous I have girls _and_ boys _and_ everyone else falling for me,” Oikawa turns his nose up, also heading towards the front since they all knew with his face in the front, they’d definitely get more customers.

***

“Stop making a mess Shitty-kawa! Clean it up next time!”

“Oi! Where’d you get that from? Iwa- _chan_?!” 

–

“No one wants you here, Oink-kawa.” 

“Wh-wha- Excuse me, we get more customers because of _me_. And Oink-kawa?!” 

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re a pig.” 

–

“You’re the one that made me hate mornings, and now I hate the entire day because I know I have to work with _you_!” 

“You’re just jealous tha-”

“No.” 

Matsukawa walked up to Hanamaki who was preoccupied on his phone. You, however, marched past Matsukawa and Hanamaki into the back with an angry huff. It was always entertaining to see the Iwaizumi and Oikawa argue, but the two of you had something… Different? 

To be quite honest, the two of them were tired of your arguing, especially as the semester came to an end. And Iwaizumi was tired of hearing the two of them complain about you and Oikawa, and then Oikawa complaining about you. 

“Hey,” Hanamaki shifted his phone for Matsun to see, “there’s a party tomorrow night.”

Matsukawa raised a brow, “We have work tomorrow.” 

Hanamaki gave him a pointed look, “Do you really want to deal with them?” 

Matsukawa glanced over at Oikawa fuming at the front then over to you, angrily shoving and reorganizing the boxes in the back. Meeting his strawberry-blonde friend’s eyes, his decision was made. 

***

“Sorry guys,” their manager, gave you and Oikawa a pitied look with a shrug as she prepared to leave after checking in. “Matsukawa- _kun_ and Hanamaki- _kun_ never took a sick day so I gave it to them. No one else could come in and besides, it’s Thursday. Not a lot of people come in on Thursdays.” 

You tried reaching for and arguing with your manager but she narrowly avoided your hand when she made it through the door to escape the bickering she only ever wanted to hear about, but never experience it. 

Oikawa opened his mouth to speak until you raised your finger up in the air, silencing him immediately. 

“I’ll work front, you stay in the back.” 

And for once, Oikawa didn’t have the energy to try to retort. 

At this point, the two of you just learned to sorta put up with each other. It was hard, but it was necessary. And, you would never admit to it out loud, but you were getting tired of being angry all the time. And yet, you still always let yourself be angry at him. 

Because he was annoying. 

Even when he talked about volleyball and wanting to be the best and to finally beat that Ushiwaka guy or outsmart Kageyama. Okay you’ll admit, his passion is pretty incredible. _But_ Oikawa was annoying. 

That’s it. 

Final. 

Luckily, your manager was right. Today was a slow day but it was a slower day than usual. Which you couldn’t complain about. It’ll be boring, sure, but it’ll be easy. You just wished that Hanamaki and Matsukawa were there. They were funny, and you liked talking to them. 

The front door opened with a ring and you and Oikawa both called out, welcoming the man that walked in. You didn’t pay any mind to him, just another customer and he seemed to be someone who was a college kid. 

“Hi, what can I get for you?” You tried putting on your best smile and the man arched a brow. 

“Uh, the signature is fine.” 

“Sure thing, what size?” 

“Large. No boba.” 

“Alright, and will that be all?” After typing in his order, you look back up, the fake customer service smile still painted on your face. 

“How about your number?” 

You blinked. The guy wasn’t necessarily bad looking, but the more he stared at you the more you got a weird vibe from him. 

You chuckled nervously, “Uhm, sorry-” you tried coming up with an excuse as to why you didn’t want to give him your number. 

“Come on, baby,” he placed his hands onto the counter, leaning in towards you as you froze in place, “I can be your sugar daddy, how about that? You don’t have to work in this place and all you have to do wou-”

“Excuse me sir, we have the right to deny anyone service and I think you need to leave.” 

The man glanced behind you and you saw him visibly shiver before he stood straight up. It seemed as if the man was debating whether or not he wanted to try to argue. 

“The door is right there,” Oikawa placed his hand on your shoulder, giving you a reassuring squeeze. “Please leave.” 

Looking up at Oikawa, there was a sort of deadly gaze with his eyes being overshadowed that would’ve made you shit your pants but knowing it wasn’t directed at you but rather this man, it made you feel safe. And the way he spoke, it was lower than usual, but filled with a sense of authority. 

Taking in Oikawa’s figure made you realize how tall he was and how fit he got from volleyball. His shoulders were incredibly broad and the squeeze was firm yet it didn’t hurt. 

The ringing of the bell from the front door brought you out of your daze as Oikawa’s face softened when looking at you. 

“Are you alright?” Oikawa asked, his chocolate-brown eyes searching yours. When you don’t reply he says your name. 

You suddenly take a step back, away from him and glance off to the side. 

“Ye-yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Are you sure, you’re shaking.” Oikawa took another step towards you, placing both of his hands gently on your quivering shoulders. You didn’t even notice you were shaking. 

Oikawa’s thankful that you don’t step away from him. To be honest, he was surprised you didn’t retort back at the man. At the same time, however, the vibes the man gave even made Oikawa himself uncomfortable. 

“Here,” Oikawa began pushing you towards a chair and sat you down, “I’ll close up shop but just sit here for now.” 

“What? But-”

“It’s almost closing time, it’ll be fine~!” His cheery voice coming back easily. Usually it’d piss you off but, you’re more than glad that he’s trying to make you feel better, safe. 

Oikawa went off, locking the front door and turning off the open sign. The setter began humming as he prepared some drinks. Watching him was always interesting. This time it was rather relaxing. You’ve always known Oikawa was a hard worker, as you could tell from when he talked about volleyball and what Bokuto always talked about. But he was a hard worker in every aspect. He charmed customers and he made drinks exceptionally fast and accurately. 

To be honest, you actually didn’t even notice he made any messes. And in your experience with his fan club members always coming in to the boba shop, they were genuinely nice people and he was nice to them as well. 

You let out a groan. You had an image to uphold, you couldn’t go back on what happened in the beginning when you said you hated him. 

But then he placed a drink in front of you and sat across from you, sipping on his own drink. 

You eyed it warily, then looked back up at him as if you were asking him what it was. 

“Passionfruit yakult. With boba, it’s usually too sweet and I noticed you don’t like too sweet drinks so it’s half sugar.” 

Grabbing the drink, you pierced the top with a straw and drank it. Though, you’ve never had it, it was good. You were also pleasantly surprised that he even remembered your preferences. 

Wait.

No, you weren’t pleasantly surprised. 

God, you wanted to rip your hair out. 

You set the drink back down, chewing and gulping the boba in your mouth.

“Thank you, by the way,” you murmured just loud enough for him to hear. 

He hummed in response, “The man was being a creep. If it were me however, you’d be fallin-ack!” 

You whacked him across the head, but a smile sat on your lips as your fingers settled to caress the boba drink on the table. 

Oikawa rubbed his head, about to make a retort but instead stared at you. Oikawa found that he liked it when you smiled. He kinda wanted to make you smile some more. 

𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒:

_At the end of every morning shift…_

“Bokuto-san, make sure you clean up the mess before you leave,” Akaashi called out, grabbing his things before heading off to class. 

Bokuto waved his friend good bye with a grin on his face. And as the boy cleaned up the shop, he somehow forgot to clean up said mess. 

_At the end of every night shift…_

“Are we really just going to leave this mess?” 

“They do it to us, so,” Hanamaki shrugged at Matsukawa. The brunet raised a brow then snorted, shutting off the lights before following his friend to the station. 

**𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢, 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look…. There was a plot hole and it doesn’t line up with boba shops but let’s just assume that there’s like an hour between the morning/night shift where the store is closed and that’s how they’ve never interacted….(i’ve only worked in a ramen shop adn that’s how it worked there ahdjfkhasdf and i foRGOT OKAY I JUST… IT NEEDED TO MAKE SENSE)


	10. hokkaido coffee 【a. keiji】

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍: 𝚑𝚘𝚔𝚔𝚊𝚒𝚍𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙳𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚃𝚎𝚊  
> 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔!

The quiet hum of the store accompanied you as you strolled through the back counter. Where there were drops of boba, grass jelly, popping boba, and anything else dropped among the counter, you promptly cleaned it up. Rush hour always seemed to make a mess of things, but might as well clean it now so that when you close up there’s less work. 

The night was going well. Although, that statement clearly infers that the night will soon erupt into chaos, that was not the case. In fact, it was one of the few nights you worked that you enjoyed. Rare, I know. 

But maybe it’s also because you know that it was every Wednesday night that the pretty boy would come in. You know it’s just on your night as well, since your coworkers who worked the same shift as you on other days had no clue who you were talking about. Sure you would never talk to him or attempt to hit him up or him trying to hit you up but one can dream that this would be the slowburn, strangers to lovers, 20k, cafe AU but make it boba type of fanfic. 

The bell of the door rang the moment the song overhead transitioned to something akin to lofi with hints of old retro type of songs. It was suiting for the pretty face that walked in, head always in his books as he sipped on his drink or even when he’d be busy studying or working on sketches in his sketchbook. 

With it being just the two of you, save for maybe one or two customers and your one coworker preparing to clock out for the night, you spoke up with a bigger-than-usual smile, “The usual?” 

“Yes please, thank you,” he replies, a smile also evident with the way the corner of his lips perked up. He was wearing glasses tonight. It strongly fit with his college persona. Along with the evident eye bags under his eyes. 

You wonder how much coffee he drinks. 

He toyed around with the owl keychain on his bag as he waited for you to input the drink, his other hand already holding his card to give to you. 

“Hokkaido coffee,” you mutter to yourself then turn to look up at him and tell him the price. He promptly hands you his card. 

Handing back his card, you give him a soft smile, “It’ll be ready as soon as possible.” 

He thanks you again and leaves a more than generous tip. You’re sure to give him a curt bow, thanking him back. 

Gliding through the back, you promptly began preparing the drink, humming quietly to the music playing. Even joining when lyrics would pop up in the lofi. Unbeknownst to you, the pretty boy kept a watchful eye on you as you worked. He should be reading, but there was something just mesmerizing with the way you worked for something as simple as making a boba drink. Even if his drink didn’t hold boba. 

He had to make sure that he was reading his book before you called out his drink, so that you didn’t know he was staring. And when you did call it out, he looked up to see his drink sitting on the counter with you behind it, wearing a closed-eyed smile. 

With a curt nod, he stands up to grab it and although he wanted to have a small conversation with you, you already head off to clean up around the shop. 

“You sure you’ll be alright closing up shop by yourself?” Kiyoko asked, hanging up her apron. 

You nod, “Yeah! If it’s too much I’ll just tell Tanaka what I couldn’t get to since he’s working the morning shift tomorrow.” 

Kiyoko smiled apologetically at you. “Sorry, I totally forgot I had an early meeting for my group project tomorrow and I haven’t done my part yet.” 

You wave her off, “It’s totally fine, it’s not often you’re forgetful like this. Reminds me that you’re just human like the rest of us.” Kiyoko flushes red, giving you another nod with her head before telling you that she’ll have to head off now if she were to catch the train. 

With that, you were the only employee for the night with about an hour left to go. Your eyes scanned the shop, only the pretty boy was left to his own devices. A small rush of heat flowed up to your cheeks and you turned your head away quickly. It looked like he was falling asleep reading his book and it was just simply too cute. 

* * *

The hour passed by relatively quickly. No one else came in and you decided to just close up shop five minutes earlier than closing time; no one noticed. 

Except, you were stuck in a predicament.

Pretty boy had fallen asleep and you didn’t want to wake him up; he looked exhausted earlier. You stare at him from across the counter, trying to not look like a creep. Biting your lip, you debated waking him up. Wouldn’t it be a little bit awkward to wake him up because you were closing? 

You let out a slight groan in frustration. You’ll just let him sleep and wake him up once you’re done. 

Quietly, you began to put certain items away, doing the routine nightly clean up. Sweeping, mopping the floors, tucking in all the chairs, so on and so forth. Soon enough, you were in front of the cash register, ready to sign off and shut it down for the day after doing the cashing out. Your belongings sat on the counter beside you, the lights were all off except one, and you had already changed back into your casual clothes. 

You give the boy one last glance and then clocked out. Grabbing your things, you slowly walked over to the pretty boy and gently put your hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. 

“Hey,” you say softly. He let out a groan, his glasses that were pushed up to his forehead fell back down on his face comedically when he looked up. His book had long closed from falling asleep and his eyes widened as he’s aware of the state of the shop. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, did I keep you? I didn’t mean to get in the way,” he slightly panics, feeling bad for being a bother and quickly shoves his things in his bag. He didn’t even finish his drink. 

You shake your head, “No, it’s alright. You looked tired and today was one of the calmer nights anyway.” 

He stands up, looking a little sheepish as he places his bag on his shoulder, the drink in his one hand. “I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you. Are you heading towards the train station?” You nod and he smiles. “I’ll walk you.” 

“No, you don’t have to! I don’t even know your name.” 

“Akaashi Keiji, and it’s the least I can do.” When your name leaves his lips, you couldn't help the way your breath hitched in your lungs. It sounded ethereal, like an angel graced your presence.

He motions for you to lead the way, considering employees usually left through the back. 

You frown, “How’d you know my name?” Slowly heading towards the back, turning off the last light and soon the moonlight donned the two of you. You were acutely aware of his presence behind you as you left the shop, the ‘Ding Tea’ neon sign flickering before turning dark completely. 

“Your name tag,” Akaashi answers simply. “Thank you, again, by the way. I don’t usually fall asleep anywhere like that.” He seemed a little embarrassed, but lucky for him it was just dark enough out that you couldn’t see the blush he wore. 

“It’s alright, it happens to the best of us. Thanks for walking with me, Akaashi- _san_.” 

Perhaps this was the strangers to lovers fanfic that waited for you. Who knows, only time will tell.

  


**𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢, 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗!**


	12. hot chai tea 【k. shinsuke】

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍: 𝚑𝚘𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚒 𝚝𝚎𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎  
> 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> submitted for agaasi's 4k writing prompt challenge on tumblr!  
> also reader has a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. 

First you woke up late, you didn’t even have time to eat, the campus bus _left_ you as you were running towards it which made you late to your last 8AM (with an attendance policy) class of the semester. Then, you realized you brought the wrong notebook for your 8AM class for the review session since finals was next week and you forgot your laptop so you resorted to taking notes on your goddamn phone. Ah, but then your phone died and you forgot to bring a charger and a portable. Because of that, you lost track of time while studying that you were late to work. 

You only made it into work 10 minutes late but it was in the midst of a rush and you messed up the first three orders terribly. So badly that your coworkers and manager just put you in the back to sort some things instead. 

That’s how you found yourself scowling as you carried boxes back and forth, organizing cups and food items in the fridge. This is it, this was your villain origin story. Forced to the back after a shitty day and—

A strict, yet soft, voice called out to you. 

You felt a shiver run down your spine, stopping you in your tracks, and slowly turned towards the voice of your manager. 

Kita Shinsuke.

Honestly, you weren’t usually scared of him. He’s a nice guy, kinda robotic at times, but he has an aura that commandeers respect. He says it like it is, but he cares a lot. Always on time, always working efficiently, always able to handle the Miya twins when needed. 

It’s just that… He’s never had a reason to use _that_ voice on you. 

“Ah, Kita- _san_ , what’s up?” You asked, trying to put on a smile. 

His intense eyes stared straight into yours and you immediately looked away, feeling a bit too vulnerable under his gaze. 

“Is there some reason why you’re not performing like you usually do?” 

Right, Kita was always someone who could do his job no matter what happens. Performing anxiety was nonexistent to him. Or any anxiety for that matter. 

“I, uh,” you debated between telling him a lie but you had a feeling he’d read right through you. Maybe being honest was the better choice here. “Just had a bad day.” 

Kita doesn’t say anything. Instead, choosing to wait. So you set down the box with a sigh and began explaining everything that happened. And he listens, fully and wholeheartedly. He doesn’t say anything, nor is he thinking of what to say until you finish. By the time you’re done going over the events that transpired that eventful day you find that you’re choking back tears. 

“I want you to take a deep breath, (Y/n),” he instructed. He walked up to you as you did so and set his hands on your shoulders. “With finals next week, you should go home and rest so it doesn’t impact your exams. Your immune system is weakest when you’re stressed and you should take care of your body-”

“Wait, Kita- _san_ —” It’s already too late, he had you turned around and began pushing you towards the exit in the back. 

“-Eat some dinner and sleep early tonight. Then make sure to get plenty of breaks as you study.” 

“Wait, but Kita, I need to work,” you pleaded, dropping the honorific. Although, that caused you more of a fright than himself as you scampered to try to fix your mistake but Kita just holds up a hand. He didn’t really mind the fact that you dropped it. 

“Do you need the money?” 

You blinked then stare down at your feet with a soft murmur of ‘yes’ and begin to explain, “I work the exact hour of shifts needed to pay for rent before the end of the month. Financial aid only covers tuition and just enough for groceries so…” 

Kita’s quiet for a few moments before he lets out a sigh, “You should still go home.” 

“Wha-? But-!”

“If you need to work an extra shift, I can work one in for you. _After_ finals which is before the end of the month and before your next paycheck.” You frown, weighing your options and as you do so, Kita leaves to go towards the front. Which was confusing as you’re left standing there in the back. You were surprised that none of your coworkers came by but you suppose it’s because they didn’t want to fall under Kita’s wrath with poor word choices. 

It wasn’t until a few moments later that his figure comes into view and in his hand was the standard _ChaTime_ cup that always held warm drinks. Kita holds out the drink towards you and you hesitantly grabbed it. 

“It’s chai tea, not too caffeinated so you’ll be able to rest easy tonight but just enough energy to get you back home,” he told you. You can’t help the few tears that escape your eyes but Kita’s face doesn’t change, no pity and no anger. Just a softness you couldn’t place. It makes your cheeks heat up. You hope you can blame it on you crying, even if it wasn’t much.

“Thank you, Kita- _san_ ,” you hesitantly take the cup out of his hands after wiping away the stray tears. “I’ll be sure to rest up tonight.” 

He gives you a curt nod and you’re already on your way to clock out and on the train back to your apartment. You finish the drink by the time you get back to your apartment and do everything that would make Kita proud. Eat dinner, drink water, and rest for the rest of the night. Maybe do a little face mask and watch a bit of Sailor Moon. 

For the first time that day, you were content. 

***

The next time you walk into work is long after finals week finished. There was a bit of a dance in each step you had as you strolled through the boba shop for the morning shift. But that soon came to a halt when you heard someone clear their voice. 

“Oh, Kita- _san_ ,” you laughed sheepishly. You could’ve sworn there was a slight smile on his face but that was the least of your worries once you noticed he had two cups in his hand. 

“Here, I hope your finals went well,” he handed you the warm drink and you immediately knew it was chai tea. 

You stared at Kita as he drank his own drink, maneuvering through the shop. You noticed that for this shift, it was just the two of you working. You also noticed that Kita must have been here for a while, the floors were mopped, the teas and toppings were all prepped and ready, monitors had all the drinks, and he prepped both of you a drink. 

He must have gone out of his way to make your shift a little easier. As you drank your tea, the corners of your lips turned upwards ever so slightly. Kita may definitely seem cold at times, blunt even, but he truly looked out for others. 

“Hey, Kita- _san_ ,” you called out, walking towards the front where he was standing. He looked up, staring at you as he waited. “You wouldn’t happen to know why my landlord said I could pay my rent late with no fees, would you?” 

Kita hummed, returning his gaze out the window where people were walking and took a sip of his drink. 

“No,” he replied. An uncharastic smirk made its way onto his face that you barely noticed as he took another sip. 

You chuckled, shaking your head. Staring down at the cup in your hands, your fingers playing with the cup sleeve, you struggled to find the right words only to resort for something simple. 

“Thank you.” 

Kita’s brown eyes glanced towards your figure, happy that you seem more well rested. He takes another sip from his cup before speaking up.

“You’re welcome.”

**𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢, 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗!**


	13. wintermelon milk tea 【s. daichi】

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍: 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚎𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙶𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝙲𝚑𝚊  
> 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔!

Daichi always liked consistency. Whether it be from himself or his friends. But there’s the fun thing about boba drinks, there were so many to choose from and so many adjustments you could put on a drink. Each one of those drinks could be specialized and catered to their own person. Boba didn’t have to be consistent.

He found that you sometimes had trouble deciding on a drink; that part was always consistent. Sometimes you chose based on your mood, sometimes you added in boba or changed it for egg pudding. With so many options, and good options Daichi would say, you could never go wrong with a drink. 

You always came in at the same time, wearing workout clothes, and always holding your school bag and what seemed to be a tennis bag. You might have always felt like a mess, but Daichi always thought you looked stunning. Which brings him to his current predicament. 

The one thing consistent between you and himself were the many awkward conversations and accidents.

“Why don’t you just talk to them,” Suga asked, exasperated as he leaned back on the counter with his elbows. Daichi peeked over Suga to watch you working on what looked to be homework. 

“You’re being weird, Daichi- _san_ ,” Tsukishima murmured, cleaning up the back counters before the next rush came. Yamaguchi worked alongside him, snickering as he mentioned something about finding it odd that their former volleyball captain acting not-calm and very not-reliable. 

The bobaristas of Gong Cha have learned to never let Daichi make your drinks. He either messes it up, spills it on the counter as he gives it to you, or spills it on you. All has happened twice. 

Daichi threw his head back, letting out a groan. He’s barely even talked to you and he still feels those weird fuzzy feelings in his stomach. Even his pre-game jitters would never be this bad. 

“Hey,” Kuroo peeped his head from the back with a smug grin, “just letting you know that our manager is coming, so you might want to make sure all the customers here have a drink or they’ll have to be kicked.”

“That’s for you Daichi.” 

“I’m busy cleaning.” 

“I’m helping Tsukki!” 

Kuroo already left to go to the back and Daichi’s heart dropped to his stomach. Of course his friends would abandon him. He’ll get them back for this but that was not what was important here. What his current concern right now was how to talk to you because you had yet to order a drink today. There were a few days where you’d come in to study and leave, or come to study for a while then order and today was one of those days. Which one, he’s not sure but either way, he’d have to be stuck with kicking you out of the store. 

Daichi cursed under his breath before going to grab a cup and went to prepare a drink. 

Suga raised a brow at his friend as he maneuvered around Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, “Daichi, what are you doing?” 

“Whatever tip I get, put it in the cash register,” Daichi replied. A knowing smirk made its way onto the former setter’s lips before leaving Daichi to his own devices, wishing him a silent good luck. 

One thing Daichi seemed to remember was that you usually ordered one drink in particular the most. He sure hoped that you were in the mood for it. And that he wouldn’t mess up the drink. Or spill it. Or-okay you get the idea. 

So when Daichi was able to set the drink on your table, softly, and without spilling all over you or himself, he was pretty proud of himself. Even his coworkers who were watching intently from behind the counter and curtain to the back were impressed. You weren’t even able to notice his coworkers spying on the two of you, despite how obvious they were. You were more occupied at the boba drink in front of you and the bobarista that you couldn’t quite ever hold a conversation with. 

“Oh, I didn’t-”

“It’s on the house,” Daichi smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to have to kick you out so uh-” 

“Let me pay you back!” You rushed to grab your wallet from your bag only for Daichi to stop you. 

“No, it’s okay, please,” Daichi assured. “For all the mishaps we’ve had.” You stared at him, dumbfounded. You were about to say something only for one of the employees to call out for him.

“Oi, Daichi, boss says you can get off early.” The one with the smug grin and messy hair, Kuroo, you’re pretty sure is the one that tells him that. 

“Oh, alright!” Daichi replied then turned back to you. “Uh-” 

“I’m basically done with homework for the day,” you stare down at your notebook, pursing your lips before looking back up at Daichi. “If you want to go walk around or something?” 

You hate yourself, walk around or something, what kind of-

“Yeah! Just let me clock out then,” Daichi pointed towards the back. 

“Alright, uh, Daichi, right?” Daichi nods, realizing he never found out what your name was. “I’m (Y/n) (L/n) but (Y/n) is fine.” 

With that being said, Daichi left and the rest of his coworkers jumped back to doing whatever they were doing, as if they weren’t watching him. You smiled to yourself as you went ahead to pack up your things before glancing at the drink. 

Wintermelon milk tea with boba. 

𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒:

“Where’s the manager?” Suga asked Kuroo after Daichi and you left, glancing around in the back searching for the man in question. 

Kuroo turned his head, pulling his gaze away from his phone. “Oh, he’s not coming.” 

Suga raised a brow only to smile and shake his head. “Did you just lie to Daichi?” 

Kuroo’s infamous grin was plastered on his face as he tucked his phone away and walked towards the front of the shop with Suga. 

“Ehh, it was getting tiring to watch Daichi and them tiptoe around each other. But I’ll cover for the rest of his shift.” 

**𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢, 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗!**


	16. matcha strawberry latte 【m. osamu】

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍: 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜' 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕  
> 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔!

“Matcha strawberry latte with grass jelly for Rei!” Osamu called out your fake name, placing your drink right on the counter. You went ahead of others waiting around to grab your drink, the tall, aesthetically pleasing drink sat on the counter with colors flowing from green to white to red, bits of black floating around. Still holding the cup was the cute bobarista who stared at you as you smiled at him, grabbing a boba straw and the cup. 

“Thank you,” you say to him and he gives you a quick nod before returning to work. You could have sworn there was a slight smile on his usually emotionless face, as far as you could tell anyway. Though, there were moments that he did have a rather expressive face when it came to his twin. 

Osamu grabbed an empty cup and stared down at the sticker placed on it with the boba drink he needed to make next. He tried to ignore the stare drilled into the back of his head. He really did (he didn’t). 

“What do you want, ‘Tsumu,” Osamu spat at his twin without turning his head. 

“Oh, nothing,” Atsumu replied, placing a scoop of boba into the drinks he was preparing. Osamu turned his head slightly to shoot his brother a glare before going back to work. “Okay, it’s just-” Osamu sighed “-you’ve been staring at them every time they come in. Oh and you also make sure they get their drink before you continue working. It’s just getting a little annoying because they are pretty cute and if you’re not gonna snatch Rei up, I will.” 

Red obstructed his vision as Osamu’s entire body stiffened. He really really wanted to grab the ladle of boba and throw it at his broth-

“Stop it.” 

Chills ran through the twins’ spines when they heard Kita’s voice scold the two of them. They immediately zipped their mouths and continued to work in silence as their shop hummed with customers and shouts of orders. Suna gave them a side eye, amusement sparkling in his eyes as he continued taking orders from customers; the amusement quickly fading away as he realized they were still in the midst of rush hour. 

Damn college kids. 

* * *

“You always get the same drink, ‘Rei’,” Oikawa observed, sipping on his Okinawa milk tea. There’s a joke somewhere in there but you were too lazy to make it. 

“Why don’t you just use your real name?” Iwaizumi set his boba down on the table, leaning back in the chair as they all sat outside the boba shop. “They should figure it out, considering you go there almost everyday.” 

You let out a sigh before taking another sip from the drink. “The guy in the front always gets your guys’ names wrong. And no matter where I go, apparently my name is too hard to spell.” You recall the first time you ordered from the same cashier with the garlic-looking hair. You had used your regular name, but somehow butchered it to “David.” Don’t ask me, even I don’t know. Did you even look like a “David”?

Matsukawa snorts, “I think it’s a miracle he gets ‘Rei’ right when he can’t even get Hanamaki’s when he uses Makki.” 

Hanamaki glances down at his drink, not even realizing that the name was spelled wrong. Again. He frowned, muttering something under his breath before going ahead to take another sip from his drink.

“Also, at least I know when my order is ready and I don’t do that ‘is it my order? Oh shit no it’s someone else’s’ that you idiots do.” You casually sip from your straw, giving all the boys a knowing glance but mainly Oikawa. 

“It was one time! I took someone else’s drink once!” Oikawa cried, laying his head against the table. You laughed, everyone else joining in on bagging on Oikawa. 

This went on for some time before Matsukawa spoke up, “Hey, why are we just sitting here?” He glances up towards the obscure boba shop sign. It wasn’t legible from this perspective, but the little ‘a’ in the beginning was obvious. 

“Because," Oikawa starts off, even adding your name with the _chan_ honorific, _"_ wants to see that one guy, the gray haired twin.” Oikawa said it as if it was obvious. You glared at the man, trying to push down the rush of heat that you felt on your cheeks. 

“Wha-! I don’t-! I-!” You sputter out, trying to come up with an excuse that you weren’t trying to wait to see the one cute bobarista.You weren’t even sure if he’d be done with his shift because if you knew that, that’d be creepy… God I hope you don’t know his schedule. 

“Stop teasing them, Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi defended, whacking him on the back of his head. He gave you a knowing look, understanding how it feels to be under Oikawa’s scrutiny. Honestly, it was terrifying how well Oikawa would know you and the others at times. Though there were definitely moments he’d just say something off the rails. 

Unbeknownst to the five of you, it was the end of the gray haired twin’s shift. Well his and two others; his other twin and the one that would purposely screw up names. 

“Hmm, isn’t that them?” Suna questions, eyeing you just outside the shop with the other friends you always came in with. 

“It is, so ‘Samu, are you going to-” 

“Shut it, I’ll talk to them. Rei, right?” Osamu takes a deep breath. He’d never do this kind of thing to be honest. But for some reason the thought of Atsumu snatching you up before he could? It didn’t sit well with him. 

You were always really sweet, and from what Suna said, you tipped well. You were even super patient that one time Atsumu screwed up your drink and ended up keeping said drink anyways, not wanting to bother them during a busy time. It wasn’t busy. So even if it all went wrong, Osamu’s sure that you wouldn’t make fun of him.

“Yup,” Atsumu pops the ‘p’ loudly. Suna knew though, he knew what your name was but honestly? He kinda wanted to see what was going to happen next. Plus, effort. 

With that being said, Osamu approached you as you laughed with your friends and called out what he thought was your name. The two friends, the one with messy black hair and strawberry hair, raise their brows at him. Then there’s a knowing look and for some reason he wants to back out but he’s already this far, right? 

He tries calling out your fake name again. The other two guys look over and the lighter brown haired one slowly smirks. For some reason, Osamu wanted to punch that smug smirk off his face. 

“Sorry, there’s no Rei here,” the smug brain haired one said. And Osamu feels like his gut’s been punched. Were your friends just covering for you because you thought he was a creep or something or-”

“What the fuck are you talking about Oikawa?” You glare at him, the back of your head moving as you turn your head towards your friends, confused where they were staring at. “What are you guys even looking at-oh.”

Osamu stares down at you, his face calm and lacking any emotion in contrast to what he was feeling inside. Regret? Shame? Argh, fuck, he had nothing to lose he already embarrased himself this much. He could already hear Atsumu laughing his ass off in his head. 

“Your name’s Rei, right?” He asked you, trying to stare at only you and not your friends. 

“Oh, uh, no, sorry.” And for a second he thinks you might have a twin until you introduce yourself. "I just use Rei as a placeholder name. For drinks and stuff.” You explain, slightly embarrassed for him but also a little stunned that he was off of work and talking to you. 

There’s silence between the two of you and you know that Oikawa and the others just want to scream at how awkward this is. That is, until a voice yells out.

“Ask them out or I will ya dumbass!” 

“Shut up!” Osamu calls back, turning his head to face his other twin and Suna. He turns his head back and suddenly you’re standing up and your friends are nowhere to be found. “I… Sorry, I didn’t have a plan for this.” 

You shake your head, “No, it’s alright, I understand what it’s like to have idiot friends. Or brother in your case.” You laugh and Osamu could swear he could listen to you laugh for hours. 

“So, not Rei, huh. Could’ve used a pick up line about you being the only Rei of sunshine in my life.” 

You stare at him before rolling your eyes, laughing once more at how stupid that was and Osamu’s satisfied that he was able to make you laugh just now. He’d really like to do it again. 

“That was terrible.” 

“I got more up my sleeve if you want to go out sometime, maybe get some boba?” Osamu asked, rubbing the back of his neck and you pretend to contemplate. That is, until you pull out your phone to give to him. 

“I’d like that.” He hands you back your phone and you send him a quick text that this was your number; he feels the vibration in his pocket. 

“Great,” he smiles. You really want to see him smile more. Even if he has the same face as his twin, who seems to always be wearing some type of smile, it was a little different when Osamu smiled. 

“I’ll text you the details then.”

**𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢, 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗!**

**Author's Note:**

> i prefer my formatting on tumblr.... so bare with me with how i formatted it on ao3 lol


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